LIMESTONE, Tennessee — The Brights Zoo says attendance usually is highest around Labor Day, but this year with the announcement of the world's only spotless giraffe, attendance has more than doubled.
Zookeeper Derrick Maltman says it's more than they could have ever expected. Just on Monday, the zoo said it saw more than 3,000 visitors.
"Attendance this weekend, this Labor Day, the last three days, has been larger than the entire month of September, in any year since we've been open," he said.
On Tuesday, the Today Show announced the unique giraffe's name: Kipekee. The name means "unique" in Swahili.
There are over 600 animals at the zoo. One worker there, Derrick Malman, said he was surprised when he first saw the spotless giraffe.
"I went on the phone with our director, and our owner, to say, 'Hey, we need to have a conversation about our new baby giraffe. She has no spots,'" he said.
He also said the cause of the giraffe's spotlessness has stumped zookeepers across the world. The last time a giraffe was born with spots was in Tokyo, around 50 years ago.
Brights Zoo said extra money raised from the giraffe will be used for giraffe conservation efforts.